NEW DELHI: A trademark dispute between two major whisky makers unexpectedly drew the Supreme Court’s attention to the widespread use of small tetra packs for liquor in south-west India. Expressing concern, the Court on Monday questioned why states permit such packaging.
“This is very dangerous. It looks like a juice tetra pack. Imagine it falling into the hands of children—parents and teachers wouldn’t even suspect it contains alcohol,” observed a bench of CJI-designate Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The case involves Allied Blenders, maker of Officer’s Choice, and John Distillers, which sells Original Choice. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for John Distillers, told the Court that both companies have sales exceeding ₹30,000 crore, and that in Karnataka alone, tetra packs make up 65% of the market.
Both firms had approached the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) seeking rectification of each other’s trademarks. The IPAB dismissed both petitions, finding no likelihood of consumer confusion. However, on November 7, a division bench of the Madras High Court ordered the rectification of the Original Choice trademark, citing similarities with Officer’s Choice. That order was challenged in the Supreme Court, where the bench examined various bottle designs and tetra packs.
With senior advocates Harish Salve, A.M. Singhvi and N.K. Kaul representing Allied Blenders, and Mukul Rohatgi and Shyam Divan appearing for John Distillers, the bench asked whether a compromise was possible “despite the ferocious fighting in different forums.”
Both sides agreed to explore mediation, following which the Court appointed retired Supreme Court judge L. Nageswara Rao as mediator to help the companies reach an amicable resolution in their spirited trademark battle.
